After saying earlier in the day that Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera were going to hit the open market in an hour, the Yankees have signed their 36-year old catcher to a 4-year $52 million dollar deal.
But once the Yankees offered Posada the four-year pact, it was practically a done deal. Posada’s first choice was to stay in pinstripes, and unless the Yankees were unwilling to go for a fourth year, there was little doubt it would happen.
The Yankees probably overpaid, but what choice did they have? Yorvit Torrealba, Paul Lo Duca or Damian Miller were not going to adequately replace Posada, who had a tremendous year both at the plate and behind it last season.
This move doesn’t shock me at all. They definitely did overpay but like the article says what choice did they have? The free-agent market for catchers definitely wasn’t a good one at all.
Hopefully the Red Sox follow suit and give Mike Lowell the fourth year and get this thing over with.
